On Thursday, six people were admitted to a hospital in central Mexico for radiation testing and are suspects in the theft of a truck recently stolen which contained potentially deadly cobalt-60 according to a government official Friday.
The detained men ranged in ages from 16 to 38. Only the 16-year-old showed signs of radiation exposure and he was in good health, a spokeswoman for Hidalgo’s Health Department said on condition of anonymity because she isn’t allowed to discuss the case. All six were detained as part of the investigation and had been taken to the general hospital in Pachuca for testing. After being cleared by health authorities, the men were turned over to federal authorities. Officials have not said what roles the six allegedly had in the theft of the truck.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the cobalt had an activity of 3,000 curries, or Category 1, meaning “it would probably be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period in the range of a few minutes to an hour.” Juan Eibenschutz, director general of Mexico’s National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards said, “What I was told is that there might be two people with sever radiation syndrome, but I do not have confirmation.”
The incident raised concerns that the material could have been stolen to make a dirty bomb, a conventional explosive that disseminates radioactive material but Mexican officials said that the thieves seemed to have targeted the cargo truck itself and likely didn’t know about the dangerous cargo. The truck was found abandoned Wednesday about 24 miles from where it was stolen and the container for the radioactive material was found opened. The cobalt-60 pellets were left about a half mile from the truck in an empty field where authorities said they were a risk only to anyone who had handled them and not the surrounding population.
Authorities are continuing to work at the site where the material was found to extract it safely.
To read my initial report: https://fggam.org/iaea-reports-missing-truck-in-mexico-with-dangerous-radioactive-material/